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BALANCE

:T. midway through the
20-minute half, then
tied the game 4:30
later.
Montreal continued
to press, but
Rosenblum made
some of his best saves
of the tournament. He
dove to his right to
make a stick save, then
relied on his pads to
stop a clean breakaway.
With 12:40 remain-
ing in the second half,
Montreal scored from
the neutral zone and
led 3-2. It was the first
time Detroit had
trailed in any game,

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,

•,:‘,N , • ••• •

from page 31

Angeles in a double-overtime final.
Nine of the 14 members of the 1998
team played in 1997, and those play-
ers wanted to avenge their loss.
Detroit breezed through the pre-
playoff competition, trouncing
Hartford 19-1, beating Metro West
(N.J.) 4-0, Philadelphia 7-2 and the
Bronx 9-1. Detroit moved easily
through the first two playoff rounds,
beating Rockland 14-2 and Chicago
4-0 to reach the final four.
Detroit is a skilled, quick squad
made up of ice hockey players who've
adapted to roller hockey. They have
known each other for years, most as
ice hockey teammates or opponents,
some as family or friends. They
blended quickly into a cohesive unit,
despite a lack of practice time.
The team used its quickness to cre-
ate offensive opportunities. But they
often allowed odd-man rushes to
counter-attacking teams. In those sit-
uations, Detroit defenders used their
speed to catch the attackers.
Detroit's flashiest player was
defenseman Brian Bortman. He plays
a Paul Coffey style, moving quickly on
the attack, darting between defenders
and firing bullets from the blue line.
The top forward combination
included Brent Bortman — Brian's
twin brother — and Scott Lutz.
Forward Matt Glenn is fast, strong
and intense. Brian Fenster and Adam
Zussman are the top defensive
defensemen. Jamie Rosenblum is the
No. 1 goalie.

8/28
1998

32 Detroit Jewish News

Above: Justin Friedman
breaks away for Detroit.

Right: Todd DeNike of
Detroit gets a drink at
halftime.

Many of the hockey
players went to the
JCC after their games
to watch other events
or to mingle. But in
trying to keep the bal-
ance, the hockey team
leaned toward the com-
petition. "Certain sports are more
competitive than other ones," said
Adam Zussman.
Brian Bortman added, "Macca.bi's
changed through the years. It used to
be a friendly thing, to get to know
each other. Now it's serious."
Said Glenn, "I went to a softball
game, and after the game they were
shaking each others' hands, hugging
each other. Today, the coach from the
other, team was calling me a goon, so
I think (the focus) is more on the
competition, more than the friend-
ship."
The competitive fire was certainly
hot in the playoffs. Detroit's semifinal
opponent was Montreal, which fea-
tured a loud cheering section and a
strong team. In the first two minutes,
however, Detroit took a 2-0 lead.
Brent Bortman scored the first goal
on a rebound, then netted the second
after a nice pass from Lutz.
Montreal got a shorthanded goal

but Brian Hartman soon tied the
score with a power play goal.
An uncharacteristic defensive lapse
four minutes later allowed Montreal
an open man in the high slot. The
shot went inside the right post and
Montreal led 4-3 with four minutes
remaining.
With one minute left, Coach
Friedman removed a defenseman and
inserted Glenn. After a face-off;
Glenn moved the puck into
Montreal's zone and sent a backhand
pass to Lutz, who tipped it past the
goalie to force sudden-death overtime.
With two minutes left in the five-
minute overtime, Friedman made
another key move, sending in
Brandon Pomish — who'd been skat-
ing with Hartman — to play with
Glenn.
Following a face-off, Fenster sent a
cross-ice pass to Pomish, breaking
into Montreal's zone. Pomish beat a
defenseman wide, cut in on goal and

stuffed the winner between the
goalie's pads.
The players "exploded," said
Glenn. "It was the biggest rush of
energy I've ever experienced."
Detroit faced Mid-Island (N.Y.) in
the gold medal game. Mid-Island had
defeated Los Angeles in the other
semi-final.
Detroit carried the play for most
of the game, but Mid-Island's goalie
was strong. But half-way through the
first half, Detroit worked its favorite
face-off play to perfection, getting the
puck to Brian Bortman at the right
point. Bortman's shot was stopped,
but Lutz banged home the rebound
for a 1-0 lead.
Detroit began the second half with
intense pressure. With 14:30 left,
Bortman beat two defend-
ers in the neutral zone,
skated over the blue line
and drilled a shot past the
goalie for a 2-0 lead.
But midway through the
half, a breakaway goal pulled
Mid-Island within 2-1 and
ignited their best flurry of the
game. A three-on-one break
was thwarted by a Rosenblum
kick save. During a Detroit
penalty which followed,
Rosenblum made two sharp
saves, then stopped a break-
away
Detroit regained the ini-
tiative and, with 4:20 left,
Brent Bortman fed Lutz in
the slot. His quick shot
gave Detroit a commanding 3-1 lead.
With three minutes left, the refer-
eecalled a penalty on Mid-Island,
which was disputed by its players and
coaches. A Mid-Island player shoved
Glenn from behind, then dropped his
gloves, looking for a fight. "The ref
just decided that it was getting out of
hand," Glenn said, "and he called the
game."
Another fight almost broke out
after the medal ceremony,, and police
escorted the teams out of the rink.
During the game, the officials called
two penalties against each team.
Despite the near fracas, Friedman
hopes "everyone will look back on
these games and say they had a great
time and a great tournament. [The
athletes are} doing what they love to
do and they're doing it in an environ-
ment that's sort of special, something
that they really can't experience else-
where."

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